A Ross County Sheriff's Office cruiser drives past the guardrail along Charleston Pike that was damaged when a stolen Harrison Township firetruck crashed through it shortly after midnight Friday.

Harrison Township Fire Department still is figuring out how to replace a tanker truck and fix the firehouse while law enforcement continue investigating the identity of the man suspected of causing the problems.

The unidentified man was taken to a Columbus hospital with serious injuries after being ejected from the fire truck he had stolen form the firehouse less than a mile away at 7489 Charleston Pike. A wall inside the firehouse was damaged as the man attempted to take the truck.

Fire Chief Bryon Thornton said it was unreal what he woke up to when the call came in just after midnight Friday. While someone stealing an emergency vehicle is not unheard of, Thornton said it's certainly unexpected and not something firefighters think will happen to their department.

"We're grabbing at straws trying to figure out what to do," Thornton said.

The Ross County Sheriff's Office reported surveillance footage reveals the suspect found as the crash scene walked onto the lot at the fire department and broke a window to get inside. The film also captured the man getting into the truck and playing with switches for a few minutes until figuring out how to turn on the truck, Thornton said.

The truck crashed into the kitchen wall before leaving the firehouse. According to the Chillicothe post of the Ohio Highway Patrol, the 2003 Kenworth fire truck was driven west on Charleston Pike before it went off the left side of the road, hit a guardrail and overturned.

The driver was ejected and later taken by an Air Evac medical helicopter to the Wexner Medical Center at the Ohio State University. According to the sheriff's office, no identification was found on the man.

Thornton was sleeping when the call came in and said the destroyed truck wasn't the first thing on his mind.

"My first instinct was I wasn't worried about the truck. I wanted to make sure this guy is going to make it," Thornton said.

A collapsed lung was among the man's injuries, and Thornton said he thinks the man was rushed into emergency surgery after arrival at Wexner.

Once Thornton and his crew of fellow volunteers had done what they could for the man, they then began looking at their own problems.

He spoke fondly of his crew and the care they had taken of the 200-gallon tanker, saying the crew members always polished it and kept looking nice. They have to. As a volunteer department, funds for equipment is scarce and trucks cost in excess of $200,000.

Thornton and other volunteers spent most of Friday trying to figure out the best option to secure a temporary truck and inventorying what equipment is salvageable. Thornton was unsure if the insurance company would fully cover the purchase of a new truck.

Although tired from a long day, Thornton and the department were not alone as fellow volunteer departments began looking at ways they might be able to help.

"All of the other departments have extended their hand to help out," Thornton said.

Liberty Township told Thornton tit could loan him some fire hoses to outfit a truck once he gets one, while another department was trying to see if its trustees might allow the department to loan a truck to Harrison Township. Other possibilities being explored are getting a loaned truck from a dealer or possibly an unused truck through state surplus - Thornton said there is one that belonged to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, but it's too large to fit in the firehouse.

As for the firehouse damage, Thornton said it was built by volunteers in 1972, and he expects they'll manage to get enough people together to make the needed repairs.

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Police seek information on driver of stolen fire truck

Harrison Township Fire Department still is figuring out how to replace a tanker truck and fix the firehouse while law enforcement continue investigating the identity of the man suspected of causing